Over the years through the season of Lent and in my participation and leadership in Alpha, Daughters of the King, in my friendships and in my volunteer and work time spent in healthcare settings I’ve spent time listening to people talk about their struggles with sin. I never pretended that I didn’t have struggles of my own, some people didn’t like that and wondered why I thought I had anything to offer them. I would smile and tell them, I don’t – but Christ does. He has the same thing to offer you that he’s offered me. I remember one person saying to me, “Oh, Really? You think Jesus Christ actually cares about me?” “Yes, I do. And if you’d like to know what he has to offer you, let me know.” He winked and said, “Not today honey, not today.” I looked at him and said, “Ok, I hope the day comes sooner rather than later.” and walked away. To me it doesn’t make sense to argue with someone who isn’t willing to listen and I’m inclined to lean on the verse that tells me that no one comes to God unless God draws them. And so I prayed for him to have a desire to want to know about Jesus and what he has to offer him. A few weeks later when I walked past him on my way to visit someone he reached out and touched my arm and said, “Hey, today is the day.” I smiled and said, “It is? The day for what? Is it your birthday or is someone coming to see you?” He laughed and said it wasn’t his birthday and no one was coming to visit, but today he wanted me to tell him what Jesus had to offer him. “Oh,” I smiled, “Ok, I’ll meet you in the hall by the chapel.” And gave him a time. He was there waiting for me and said, before you tell me, I want to tell you something – and he shared why he thought Jesus didn’t have anything to offer him. He talked about losses of relationships he had endured as a child, he talked about feeling like nobody cared, how nobody called and nobody talked with him about those losses. He told me about trouble he had in relationships and bad choices he had made. He cried when he told me he hadn’t been to church since grade school. He talked about being discharged from the service and the shame he felt and how his family relationships broke apart. None of his friends ever invited him to church or ever talked about their faith. Maybe, he said, because I always laughed at them or cut them down – Jesus is for sissy’s is what I told them.” ” So what do you want to know about Jesus today?” I asked him. He said, “No, wait I’m not done – what I want to tell you is that I think maybe I’m the one whose been the sissy. Maybe I’m the one who was to weak to say I needed help. So what I want to know is – what do you think Jesus had to offer a sissy like me?”
I didn’t start with telling him that Jesus has forgiveness to offer. I started with telling him that Jesus had a lot to offer to sissy’s. He has God’s love to offer him and, he has the gift of the Holy Spirit, he has the gift of peace and grace. I asked if he had ever heard much about the Holy Spirit and the inheritance of peace that Jesus gave to those who loved him at the hour of his death. He shook his head. So that’s where I started, because the bible also tells us that no one can say Jesus is the Son of God unless they have the Holy Spirit in them. We briefly talked about the Holy Spirit and the Peace Jesus experienced in his lifetime and I asked if he would like to receive those gifts. Then I gave him a bible and we opened it to I Timothy and I read I Tim. 1:12-17.
When I finished reading I asked him if anything seemed to stand out to him. “Unlimited patience,” he replied . . . “that’s what God must have had with me all these years ‘cuz I’m not dead yet.” “Unlimited patience for you and for me,” I said, “In fact, for the whole world – it’s incredible isn’t it?” It’s more than incredible, he said, and that’s how Jesus forgives people?” “That’s a good question” I suppose so, who else or how else could someone forgive people like that?
God’s patience is indeed unlimited. We have limitations for ours and because of that our patience is limited. We run out of patience with ourselves, we stumble and fall spiritually and we give up easily. But Jesus is always there to forgive us and help us forgive ourselves so can get up and continue on in living and working in the power of His Grace and Spirit.
Lord, Thank you for having patience with us. Thank you especially for having patience with how long it takes some of us come to believe in you. Thank you for having patience with us as we amend our ways. Thank you for the gift of strength that you give to us, according to your measure, that we are all equipped to be of service to you in our lifetimes wherever we are. Please continue to pour out your Holy Spirit as you have promised on all men and women – young and old, that we may live together in your peace. AMEN
